Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf is a wonderful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood through the eyes of a neurodiverse little girl who uses emojis to express her opinions and has a very clear idea of how she thinks the story should really have been written…

Autistic Gina doesn't like mistakes and is determined to fix them - there will be no wrong turnings in the forest, no dangerous axes and no blaming wolves for doing what their nature intended them to. ND Gina displays that wonderful combination of a need for order and organised steps alongside an ingenious, creative redesigning of the tale in her own voice and with her own symbols.

The story is beautifully drawn with bold, large illustrations and a clearly defined, bright colour palette. The illustrations are so simply styled yet wonderfully expressive and depict the key moments in the story where Gina makes her own choices and makes herself the bold heroine of the story.

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf is entertaining and lively. It would be fun to see which other fairy tales Gina takes issue with and could rewrite in her own uniquely confident young voice.

Picture book / Reviewed by Jennifer Caddick, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf challenges the format of the way that traditional narratives are told. The neurodiverse lead character has a unique way of reimagining the traditional story of Red Riding Hood in a way which will help others start to understand how some children might 'chunk' information and why they may need to have different environments in which to learn.  The fantastic illustrations from Francis Martin, with a limited colour pallet and an innovative use of pictorial emoji language, will draw children in and spark discussion.

Gina Kaminski is here to tell you three facts. 1 – Little Red Riding Hood is full of BIG mistakes. 2 – She is off to fairy tale land to fix them. 3 – She WILL save the wolf. This would be an exciting book to share with children to discuss ways in which they might reimagine another traditional story or to discuss how they might retell Gina's story differently.

You very rarely find a story which is truly unique and makes you think but that is exactly what Craig and Francis have managed to do. An absolute must have for the classroom and library. This is the ideal book to empower every child to be the hero of their own story.

Picture book / Reviewed by Amanda Shipton, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf is a clever book which deals with feelings, choices and a rather famous fairy tale. Gina is at school and is finding the environment challenging. She is helped by her feelings charts and kind Anya, who reads Little Red Riding Hood with her. Gina then realises "that the girl and the wolf make three big mistakes" and she prepares to enter this fairy tale and sort it all out.

The next part of the story journeys with Gina in familiar places and with familiar characters sorting out the story and ensuring all the characters are safe and and the mistakes are fixed. The illustrations are bold and bright and complement the story with lots of detail to capture the imagination of each reader.

This book deals with Gina's anxieties and her quest to fix the mistakes. A great book supporting wellbeing in the context of a very familiar fairy tale.

Picture book / Reviewed by Maria, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 5+